Tag Archives: family history

Ma’eMa’e Sunday School Headstone Mapping & Transcriptions

22 Dec

Yesterday on a wet and rainy Puunui morning my helper and I visited my Grandparent’s grave at the former site of the Ma’eMa’e Sunday School. I have many fond memories of attending family functions, holiday potlucks, and Sunday School there. I miss the warmth of the pews; the Na Himeni bound in red dotting each row. I miss ringing the bell – its cheerful tone marking the start of another Sunday afternoon service. I miss the scent of the plumerias that used to shade my grandparent’s graves….removed I guess to make the landscaping and upkeep of the grounds fuss-free.

A surreal feeling envelopes you as you wander this tiny cemetary.  We took a brief shelter from the Nu’uanu rains under the last remaining large tree on the top side of the chapel.  Many of the Mahoe family are buried in this area of the grounds.  Kaumakapili Church Deacon Charles Mahoe started this sister chapel with his wife Haleaka. I understand the Ma’eMa’e bell is now at Kaumakapili and continues to be rung every Sunday.

Stairway to Nowhere

Stairways to Nowhere

The stark foundation and concrete steps leading to nowhere where the little green chapel in which my parents were married once stood till extreme winds blew down the 137 year old chapel in May 2000.  Orange “safety” netting now surrounds the stone foundation. Garish and out of place in this peaceful setting.

a fragment of the paint color still evident on this crawl space gate built into the stone foundation

Not only are my grandparent’s there, but also my great-grandparents Lino Fernandez, II and Phillipa Fernandez, great-great-grandparents Joseph & Sarah Kauhimaka, and great-great-great-grandmother Momona Kanohokai. Countless other aunts, uncles and close family ties surround.

In my last few visits there I’ve been working at photographing the headstones in the churchyard. With umbrella shielding the steady rain we added another 30 headstones to our growing collection of documentation yesterday morning. Many of the headstones are quite ornate with carvings and designs. Some with photos of the beloved, so haunting.  Ever more haunting the headstones of infants.

Findagrave.com lists 47 internments as of this writing — some of the transcription data is incorrect and doesn’t match headstone information however.  Many more of the memorials are not yet recorded there. I hope to get the information corrected and add the photos and memorials not yet on the grave search results.  I believe there are possibly many more internments for which no headstone remains…I’ve found some reports in turn of the century newspapers of folks being buried there and want to compare those names against the inventory and transcription of headstones I’m building…

My Grandparents Lino Fernandez, III and Marilyn Hann Jin (LEE) Fernandez

Today is my grandmother Marilyn Hann Jin (LEE) Fernandez’ birthday.  She would have been 91.  She died at an early age the day after her last child, my Uncle Lee, was born due to complications during delivery.  I’ve only ever known her from  photographs, other’s stories and memories, and my own quiet visits to her graveside through the years. She grew up nearby on Rooke Avenue and her mother and my grandfather’s mother were good friends at the Sunday School. It’s where they met and fell in love.

Visit: Ma’ema’e Chapel Cemetery – 401 Wyllie Street

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Favorite Something

15 Nov Fernandes Family Photo

It’s been a little bit since I’ve posted…been busy researching FERNANDES/ FERNANDEZ, AYRES/ MOSS, and WAIWAIOLE lines recently. I also joined a 30 day photo challenge this month and today’s theme photo to capture was “favorite something”.

I couldn’t resist and put together a quick shot of my Lino Fernandes I and family photo with a descendants Ahnentafel chart. Genealogy and family history research is afterall my “favorite something.”

Fernandes Family Photo

my favorite something

On the Fernandes line — I’ve made some headway into discovering some living relatives and finding out more about what happened to Uncle Manuel Lino Fernandes‘ family by 1930. (Manuel is pictured above 2nd row last on the right).  In 1920 — his wife and five children are found residing on Tenth Avenue in Palolo Valley, but by 1930 the family is completely separated – the children in two different orphanages/institutions, Manuel back on Metcalf with relatives and wife Mary Faria Neves still missing – but oral tradition says she may have been admitted to the “insane asylum” or the Oahu Asylum in Kalihi/later moved to the Territorial Hospital in 1930 now known as the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe.

Not much more is known at the moment about this mystery of a family broken right at the turn of the decade in the era of the Great Depression.  I did find a lead/ possible resource and hope to collaborate further after I read the essay, “The Remembrance Project – Remembering the Past to Move to the Future” written by Randolph Hack a Consumer Advisor to the Adult Mental Health Division in Honolulu.  Apparently from its opening till 1960, deceased patients were cremated and then stored in cardboard boxes with names handwritten on front — by 1960 a local reporter exposed the poor conditions and record keeping of the deceased – names faded, cardboard remains boxes deteriorated and mildewed, remains spilling out.  As a result the 668 remains were inurned at Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery July 1, 1960.  Several bronze plaques list “names” for 541 of the 668.  I’ll have to do a visit and search for Mary on the plaques; she would have been about 33 years of age in 1930 so it could be possible she passed by 1960 and would have been one of the interred.

Until the 1940 Census is released next year, the 1930 Census is the only clue of the whereabouts of the children: the eldest two James and Herbert are found at the Home for the Feeble-Minded persons at Waimano (now Waimano Home).  The three younger children Walter, Hazel and Manuel, Jr. were at the Kalihi Orphanage Asylum also known as St. Anthony’s Retreat Center.

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Finding Mr. Welpe

29 Oct

My Great-Aunt Jewell Rebecca Brown Welpe was born in 1897 in North Carolina and died in 1992. Until a few weeks ago all I knew of her was from a handwritten note my mother had after a conversation she had many years ago with Great-Grandma Elizabeth Brown Whitfield six years younger born in 1903.

“Grandma’s Sister: Rebecca Brown married Mr. Welpe”.  I’d always wondered more about my Great-Aunt and thought if I could learn more about her perhaps I’d learn more of my own Great-Grandmother.  And from that little 4×4 square note spawned years of wonder over the question: “Who was Mr. Welpe?”

Records I found on Ancestry.com opened many new doors for my search. I started with my Great-Aunt’s name as I knew it -“Rebecca Welpe”-looking for some kind of death record or census record.  There was a hit – the North Carolina Death Collection – stating she had passed away in Raleigh, Wake County, NC. Which placed her in the right region for the family,  and it revealed a new name, Jewell.  Armed with this new gem of information — there was already a second suggested record  — from the SSDI (Social Security Death Index).  This one had somewhat conflicting information — but I knew it was another clue – “Last Residence: 10520 Croton on Hudson, Westchester, NY”.

I quickly flipped over to Familysearch.org and found their expanded  entries of data — all more valuable clues — Burial Place: Fayetteville, NC; Place of Birth: Randolph County, NC; Occupation: Public Health Nurse; Marital Status: widowed.  So we know our Mr. Welpe passes on before 1992.  A second microfilm death collection there has much of the same information but lists the name of the crematory – Rogers and Breece Crematory in Fayetteville and also lists an residence address on Crutchfield Rd.– the very same address I had as a known address for my own Great-Grandmother.  Perhaps her health began to fail so she traveled south to be with her sister Elizabeth back home in Raleigh soon before she passed to have the conflicting last known residences.

On the same search at the bottom of the page — “the following results don’t strongly match what you searched for but may be of interest”  and yes they were… perhaps these Welpe’s were relatives of –or the “Mr. Welpe”  himself.  Unfortunately, none seemed to be a match for him – but all had some kind of New York connection.  So into the database they go as possibles. For some odd, gut-reason I especially like the possible Fredrick Welpe – born approx. 1894 to German immigrant parents and living in Brooklyn Ward 27, Kings, NY. (1910 Census). But even he seems to be a miss.

Simultaneously — I wonder where is Jewell in that year – so back to Ancestry – to build her timeline:

  • 1910 United States Census: 12 year old Jewell Brown is residing in the Oxford Orphan Asylum in Oxford, Granville, North Carolina.  Listed right under her name on the next line is Lola Brown listed as the same age.
  • 1920 United States Census: 22 year old Jewell is now in Henrico County, Virginia.  Richmond Clay Ward, Independent City, Virginia.  She’s in a household of Staff nurses who are “visiting nurses.” living on South Cherry Street.
  • 1930 United States Census: 32 year old Jewell moves again this time to an apartment house on Sherman Ave. in Manhattan, New York City.  She’s her own head of household, still single and working as a nurse in the maternity center.  Many other nurses are listed in the same apartment building so perhaps this is near the hospital.
So now I’ve established her in NYC by 1930  — a marriage to Mr. Welpe just might be in Manhattan…unfortunately to get a marriage certificate in NYC it will require me to know Mr. Welpe’s first name and to acquire a copy of both his death certificate and Jewell’s.
I’ve found many Mr. Welpe’s in  NY, NJ areas from other sources — just not the one who married Jewell Rebecca.  At least not yet:
  • Albert H. Welpe b. 1878 NYC; father Clements Welpe b. 1846 Austria
  • Frank Welpe b. 1883 d. 1978 married Mary Branard /Brainerd – daughter of Grove P. Branard b. 1851 – brother Charles D. Branard
  • Frederick Welpe b. 1893 NY married Gertrude
  • John Charles Welpe married Lulu Rowland; son Dennis J. Welpe d.2007 who endowed the Welpe Theatre in NJ.
  • Lawrence Welpe b. 1884 d.1963 married
  • William Welpe  a Broadway actor in the 1920s
Until I found a resource called Sysoon.com the “dead people search engine, funeral news and directory.”  They claim on their homepage to be “the first social network dedicated to the death and funerals”. On their search – was one Mr. Welpe with the right approximate birth and the last location zip — 10520 – that’s New York’s Croton on Hudson village. Very promising.
Milton Welpe b. 1895 died 1974.
Other citations I’ve found for Mr. Welpe  include:
  • 1910 United States Census: Milton M. Welpe — 14 years old – stock boy – natural born – parents German Andrew H. Welpe & Thelka Welpe residing in Manhattan on West 114th Street
  • 1917 — WWI Draft card from June 1917 – the 21 year old Welpe is single; a salesman for Charles Russell in Baldwin where he also resides.  On his draft card he reports he has grey eyes and brown hair.
  • 1920 – possible “first” marriage at age 24 (per 1930 US Census)
  • 1930 United States Census: 34 years old – listed as married  and age of first marriage 24. No wife is listed in the household though.  He is residing with his parents on W. 204th Street which happens to be right around the corner from the Sherman Avenue apartment where Jewell R. Brown resides.  He works as a manager of a radio store.
  • 1974 – SSDI  – Milton Welpe last residence Westchester, New York, zip 10520 (Croton on Hudson)
My intuition tells me we’ve found Mr. Right in this Mr. Milton M. Welpe,  but till i find some vital record linking them on a death certificate or marriage certificate or probate – I’ll still be… finding Mr. Welpe.

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Genealogy Guilty Pleasures

7 Oct

Genealogy is an addiction for me… yes addiction.  Do I need a cure?  Probably not… but often, I do need a fix.  Here are some of my “go to” genealogy guilty pleasures. You may find a few links you’d love to Follow Friday too:

Alltop Genealogy  http://genealogy.alltop.com/

This blog aggregator gives their curated view of the top 100 blogs in any topic; this page covers their picks for genealogy; don’t agree you can create your own MyAlltop pages and blog collections. There’s no shortage of reading for the novice to the pro-genealogist.

Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com

I only recently made the leap into being a “paid” researcher and not looking back.  What’s funny is I’ve been a guest member since 2000…  I still need to load my tree and it will be so phone to use their accompanying iPhone app and be able to whip out the family tree at any given moment.

Chronicling America  http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/

I’ve fallen in love and it’s with yesterday’s news.  You can search America’s historic newspapers pages from 1836-1922 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.  Some of Hawaii’s early papers are here and they’ve been a treasure trove of finds.  I’ve searched on names, places and topics.. their pdf browser has many FREE export options too to download a pdf or jpg of the whole page or just take a “clipping” that can zoom into the section you need and it comes with the citations…AWESOME!

Genealogy Gems Podcast http://genealogygems.tv/

With hundreds of podcasts and wonderful content – i’ve been doing all my driving with host Lisa Louise Cooke.  She is the producer and host of the Genealogy Gems Podcast, an audio and video genealogy show available in iTunes.

Geni.com http://geni.com

Through collaborations on geni.com and elsewhere, my Geni Tree spans 10s of thousands of blood relatives… that’s a lot of cousins.. and I’ve discovered roots tracing my direct lineages over 40 generations back in time.

Google.com http://www.google.com

You might think that’s not a genealogy site, but oh yes it is…surname searches, history searches plus google’s own proprietary tools like GoogleEarth, Timeline, GoogleBooks and other google gadgets make for a very happy genealogist.

Ulukau.org http://ulukau.org

Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library is my number one resource for Hawaii based searches.  There’s dictionaries, Hawaiian Newspapers, and the Polk Guides (city directories from turn of the century).

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‘Ohana means family

5 Oct

Since the early 90s, I’ve immersed myself in collecting genealogy–my own and that of others–literally “Shakin Trees”. Over the last year, I’ve made many more discoveries about my ‘Ohana (family) near and far and the Shakin Trees blog will be my touchstone for sharing research, family treasures and hopefully connecting with distant cousins.

October is Family History month and I’m shifting my genealogy efforts into high gear.  Feeling like i’m getting a good start:

  • Visited and enrolled as a member today with the Portuguese Genealogical & Historical Society of Hawaii
  • Have a second genealogy lunch date setup with my Aunt and family historian mentor
  • Enrolled in a few Familytreeuniversity.com webinars and being sure to enter the daily drawing
  • Watching for the Tuesday questions/contest from Geni.com
  • Got a lead to contact a Keanini relative to help collaborate and plan the genealogy for the 2012 Akana ‘Ohana Reunion in Hilo next summer.
  • Got some 3 inch binders to organize some papers on each of my grandparent’s lines.
  • Helping edit and write a “memory book” entry for another Aunt for her high school reunion
Overall October will be a wonderful month of ‘Ohana time and sharing.

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